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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. pass — a permit
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. kick — in football
  12. cell — a phone
  13. net — for catching
  14. bound — certain
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. net — in sport
  17. bound — tied together
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. net — after costs
  22. rock — a stone
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bound — obliged

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com